It's a recurring scenario: A friend is engaged in a charitable cause. They ask me for a donation and I'm happy to oblige.

Key points:

Charities demanding unnecessary details

Privacy Act allows for data exchange

Data retention fast becoming a 'toxic asset'

But unless I can give them cash — a tricky prospect if they're asking from overseas or I'm caught short — it has to be transferred online and for me, that's a problem.

Some modern charities online do not just ask for the basic essentials, like credit card details. They ask for your home address, your email address and your mobile phone number, and failure to offer any of this private information means they may notaccept your money.

If people did not want to be contacted again, or less frequently or via a different method, they "just needed to ask the charity".

"FIA has a self-regulatory code that in part stipulates how fundraisers had to respect a donor's choice in respect to opting out," Mr Edwards said.

"Compliance with the code is compulsory for all FIA members."

Amnesty International Australia fundraising manager Rachel Walker said they collected details so they could contact donors in the instance "something goes awry" and in order to thank them "personally".

It was also to give them a receipt, "keep them informed about the human rights work" they supported, and to "validate their record against our database to make sure there are no duplicates".

"Any data we collect is stored strictly in accordance with privacy laws. Donors can opt out at any time in accordance with the Privacy Act.

"A small proportion of our donors do indeed choose to make an anonymous donation, which they do by ringing our supporter relations team," Ms Walker said.

A Cancer Council spokesperson said most Australians were happy to provide their contact details and wanted to receive a tax receipt and an update on the charity's work.

"Individuals can choose their level of engagement with us and opt out of being on our database whenever they choose by contacting us via phone, post or email," she said.

"We also provide detail on how personal information is treated in our privacy statements."

But Mr Vaile, who is also the University of New South Wales' Cyberspace Law and Policy Centre executive director, said no digital networked system, "virtually anywhere run by anyone, could be claimed to be safe and secure".

"The most well-protected, secure and sensitive systems on the planet have been hacked, leaked and subject to massive data breaches and circulations of all of their records. It's increasingly common."

People acting 'like sheep' while risking all

Mr Vaile said a wide spectrum of people were increasingly blasé about privacy risks and had their heads in the sand because the "impacts were not right there in their face".

"And certainly, both government and big datamongers like Facebook and Google try to discourage people from thinking about that [privacy]. They're very good advertisers and persuaders so a lot of people wander along like sheep [and] go 'whatever, everyone else is going it'."

Mr Vaile said organisations should be working towards data minimisation — collecting the minimal information required because too much information was a potential security hazard, or a "toxic asset" for businesses.

"In the end, the reason that you should trust someone is that they assume they're going to be hacked," he said.

"They act cautiously, work on a precautionary principal, give you lots of choices to work anonymously and that sort of thing.

"If someone doesn't work like that, if they're trying to bully you or trick you into just handing data over, then increasingly you need to question whether they are worthy of your trust."

An Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) spokesperson said charities "should consider the need for the information and data they were collecting about people, and comply with any obligations or laws that come with the collection, storage and use".

"Charities must be careful to ensure that sharing any donor list would meet reasonable community expectations," she said.

"While the ACNC does not administer fundraising licences or regulate fundraising activity, we do ensure that charities are meeting their obligations under the ACNC Act and Governance Standards."

She said the ACNC received about 100 concerns a month, most of which were raised by members of the public.

According to the FIA, Australians donated about $12.5 billion a year to charitable causes.

I'm happy to say I'm one of those contributors but, with the exception of one or two organisations that already have my details, it's by cash only and my private details remain none of their business.

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